While sustainable development means meeting the needs of the present and future generations, and a focus on prevention of environmental degradation, several factors influence the attainment of these goals, specifically culture and organizations. Sustainable development as a concept first appeared in the Brundtland Report of the World Commission on Economic Development (Buchanan 29). The Brundtland Commission was established in 1985 to address environmental problems due to economic development. Atmospheric pollution, climate change and global warming, accumulated wetlands, decreased freshwater quality, topsoil degradation, endangered species of animals and fishes, and forest degradation were environmental concerns discussed in the Brundtland Commission (Buchanan 29). Rapid growth in the world’s population resulted in increased depletion of the world’s natural resources to meet the needs of an expanding populace.
Using sustainability as a concrete analytic framework is of great concern as it provides a quantifiable standard for action and development (Buchanan 31). The Brundtland Commission’s definition of sustainability theory emphasized the interrelatedness of stewardship to the environment, stakeholder values, and economic development. Paul (qtd. in Buchanan 31) says that society, the environment, and business organizations are not at odds regarding sustainability, but are mutually dependent and viewable from a position of shared value. In other words, society, the environment, and business organizations are interdependent.
Sustainability implies durability or survivability. Sustainability theory means that individuals may exploit natural resources using a method that protects the resource from permanent damage or depletion over an extended period (Hollingworth 31). Synonymous terms for sustainability include: “inclusiveness, connectivity, equity, prudence, and security” (James 65).
The Role of Organizations
Using resources and organizational knowledge of organizations is one of the solutions to the world’s dilemma of increasing environmental degradation. In early 1990s, a Swiss businessman founded the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), believing that business organizations can play an active role in attaining sustainable development. In 2015, the United Nations developed the sustainable development goals to help eradicate poverty, protect the environment, and guarantee economic development for all nations (Anders 80).
Wilkinson, Hill, and Gollan stated that for the concept of sustainability to be meaningful, it must correlate with upholding, restarting, or restoring something specific, and must also consider the moral dimensions of fairness of exchange between present economic pressures and the future environmental factors (qtd. in James 65).
Business organizations have sustainability vision which might be likened, at first, to the initial cloudy form of a dream or wish: the more detailed objectives and targets to the clarification of goals, while the process of engaging internal and external stakeholders, setting targets, and monitoring outcomes might be likened to determining the path to the goal and the strategy of action (James 66). The essence of sustainable initiatives must be embedded in the values, beliefs, and culture of an organization with technological innovation or business outputs simply being a result of this change, not the driver of this change. Sustainability is perceived as dependent on a green culture change within the organization (James 66).
Figure 1: Overview of Environmental Impact from Business Operation (Global)
SOURCE: Panasonic Global Environmental Impact Model (James 69)
Ecologically sustainable organizations can survive and benefit over the long term in both economic and natural environments. Firms should have a culture of attaining environmental social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) guides company activities “in the protection and promotion of international human rights, labor and environmental standards and compliance with legal requirements” in its daily activities and operations (James 68).
CSR requires a commitment to participate in the economic, environmental, and social sustainability of the areas where a business organization is located. Savitz and Weber indicated that CSR involves engagement of stakeholders, the active participation of communities affected by business and the public reporting of company policies and performance in the economic, environmental and social arenas (qtd. in James 68).
There are a number of business organizations which are involved in environmental sustainability initiatives, and they have become a model for CSR practices. They include The Body Shop, Starbucks, and Interface (James 68). As an example, The Body Shop does not use animal by-products; Starbucks ensures that suppliers provide hundred percent recyclable packaging materials; and Interface guarantees that its textiles production is sustainable. These companies have pushed their strategic initiatives deep into the learning systems of corporations and create similarity across the strategic, structural, and learning systems, and can lead them to be more sustainable. This concept tells us that sustainability must be considered as a core value that is integrated deep into the organization in order to be effective.
The UAE Culture and Sustainability
The UAE has been greatly influenced by the Western culture, but its religious beliefs and cultural traditions have become a backdrop for different businesses to thrive. Islam has influenced many of UAE’s business practices. Love and care for the environment, along with other values like charity, or giving alms to the poor in the Islamic tradition of Zakat, are constantly practiced and part of corporate social responsibility of local businesses (Katsioloudes and Brodtkorb 11).
Some fifty years ago, Dubai was just a place of about 30,000 poverty-stricken individuals; but Dubai today is a city of about a-million-and-a-half and home to high-profile investments and organizations. This becomes a training ground for the young Emirati who may someday take the helm of the management of key organizations in the UAE. Without forcing but slowly inculcating in their minds the spirit of entrepreneurship and leadership, young Emirati nationals will manage the growing businesses in Dubai (Hvidt 397). This is also their chance to introduce sustainability in their businesses and organizations.
The UAE is located in a region with usual headlines of wars and political turmoil; but the UAE is popular for being a country of stability, with significant business centers, notable multinational companies like DHL, Shell, Intel, and so forth. The UAE is now a major business hub in the Middle East (Katsioloudes and Brodtkorb 9). If trends should continue, these businesses will soon be followed by other multinational corporations. However, the UAE is home to various ethnic groups; unifying these groups and securing their cooperation and participation to build a sustainable community can be considered farfetched from a Western point of view.
The government and the private sector should provide the necessary motivation for young Emiratis: today’s lack of expert Emirati personnel to manage businesses and lead organizations will someday be replaced with highly-educated and properly trained Emirati executives. Motivation should be a primary aim of an effective training and development because it stimulates trainees to act and be good leaders.
The government and the private sector, expatriates and Emiratis, are responsible for transforming Dubai into a business “star” in the Middle East and of the world. Young Emiratis and those still learning the ropes in business are present beneficiaries of the technology, the resources, including the billions of dollars coming in enticed by the prospects of good business in Dubai (Balakrishnan 62). These are all part of the training ground that small and large businesses should be able to take advantage.
The United Nations recognized the importance of integrating cultural values and diversity in the success of development projects (Speier 32). Buchy and Race support this theory by saying that ignoring cultural values and diversity could result in communities feeling mistreated and dependent (qtd. in Speier 32), and can lead to charges of cultural imperialism. The United Nations applied this concept by integrating cultural context with social inclusion and collaboration as essential elements into their development programs.
This was supported by the World Bank, when it recognized that people, as part of social groups, families, and communities, maintained an entitlement to protect their indigenous traditions and cultures. The world organization also recognized that empowering local communities can help attain sustainability, e.g. asking them to participate in the development process (Speier 32). Ensuring the active participation of local communities can provide opportunities and additional income for the members, and help in the success of development projects. Lyons et al. suggested that empowerment increases control (qtd. in Speier 33), and enable indigenous communities to become active participants, rather than being passive beneficiaries, and motivate them to accept environmental changes. Emphasis on empowerment recognizes the potential for existing and hidden social capabilities to improve and make them efficient in the human development process.
Personal Reflection
I would love to live in a sustainable future, with nature and the amenities of high technology combined to give us comfort and improved quality of life. In fact, this has been envisioned by the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, and make Abu Dhabi pivoted towards a sustainable future, with its plans of building the new fareej, a traditional neighborhood setting with an ambitious concept of a “complete community” (World Policy Journal 1).
Features of the fareej include a barahaat (community spaces changing on locations, with a school, a playground, a mosque, and majis, etc.); a sustainable waste disposal system, which has a pearl rating system that tracks waste and reduces energy use, and with a sustainable recycling system; sikka, or narrow paths connecting homes to a community facility, with trees providing shades to inhabitants, sculptures, and wind towers giving comfort; courtyards, which are typical of Abu Dhabi homes; numerous parks located in many areas; street designs and smart buildings, and so forth. The traditional courtyards of Abu Dhabi homes had for thousands of years provided efficient, comfortable and private space. In larger homes, there are spaces separate for men and women. Sikkas allow residents to walk in the neighborhoods from place to place, and the streets can provide smooth car movements. Street designs have to give priority to pedestrians. Public transport will be as easy as driving cars, and there will be less air pollution. The sustainability assessment program will evaluate how each project deals with climate, and also consider the people’s culture. Abu Dhabi has to reduce its water and energy needs by using low-flow piping and efficient water use and collection, or the reuse of rain water (World Policy Journal 14).
All Emiratis and all citizens in the UAE should be given this chance to participate in building a sustainable community. I stressed “all citizens” because there are immigrants from other countries who have integrated into the Emirati society; they are already a part of the nation and should be included in the sustainable plans of the country. As mentioned in the earlier paragraphs, ethnic groups in the UAE should have a role in building a sustainable future. Literally, we will help build this country, not just construction companies with their foreign skilled laborers. I would love that in the future I would be telling my children and grandchildren that I helped build this nation, with a bright and sustainable future.
The fareej plans should not just be for the citizens of Abu Dhabi; it should also be for the other Emirates, to whom we can share our expertise for a sustainable future. I believe that this is possible and doable; in fact, everyone is ecstatic, including government people who have envisioned it from the beginning. Full cooperation from the citizenry is needed – from the richer ones to the poorer ones.
The transport sector has become the focus of attention among policymakers because it contributes to a great amount of environmentally destructive greenhouse gas emissions and also consumes a large portion of a country’s petroleum expenditure. Because of this, most governments around the world are considering shifting to electric vehicles as alternative means of transportation. The motivation comes in the form of tax exemptions, government subsidies, or consumer price incentives. In the UAE, they focused on enhancing technology-neutral measures like stern vehicle GHG emission standards, and instituted a number of programs to entice consumers to purchase what they call NEVs or new-energy vehicles (Mangram 294). Electric cars can help reduce CO2 emissions and improve air quality, but these are difficult to introduce in the market since they are a threat to the gas-powered auto industry; that is why some states have difficulty promoting development of electric cars.
Tesla has been in the forefront of providing the world with luxury electric vehicles and has encountered various challenges in its entry in a very-stiff competitive car industry. This company is an example of a sustainable organization needed by countries like the UAE. Moreover, UAE consumers can support this change to support their fareej plans of building a sustainable community.
Much of the progress of science has been motivated by deep interest in change. This interest is not abstract but with deep practical value. If changes are seen, people take aims to study so that they may be understood. If changes are understandable, they may probably be foreseen. Research in economics and management has been dealing with thoughts of social, industrial, and technical change at successively finer levels of resolution, seeking first to understand, and then to shape the circumstances and activities that bring about wide ranging changes.
Early car designers had little constraint in terms of infrastructure or institutions to guide their choice of technology. Vehicles powered by internal combustion engines (ICEs), steam engines, and electric motors were all produced in roughly similar numbers, with clear advantages and disadvantages (Anderson and Anderson 17). Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are the perfect city car, and they can compete with gas-powered engines.
Tesla introduced a strategy by making alliances with some of the giants in the industry, which allowed it to pull through with expertise and infrastructure of other firms, instead of continuously innovating; nevertheless, its engineers recognize that innovation is needed to make them highly competitive.
Electric motors are much better than gas engines in many ways. In addition to environmental advantages, Tesla’s electric motors have the capacity to create a maximum torque “at zero rotations per minute,” which means it can continue producing an equal amount of torque on all rotation levels.
Conclusion
The UAE government has given full support for the proliferation of electric vehicles in the country. This is the answer to the government’s environmental problems to reduce greenhouse gases. This may be a threat to the oil industry; but the government can control it. As an example, Dubai and Abu Dhabi and the other states of the UAE have diversified their economy, to not fully depend on oil as a source of their GDP. Sustainability is enhanced through electric vehicles, combined with gas-powered cars of the twenty-first century.
We can direct back our attention to the Brundtland Commission’s definition of sustainability theory, which emphasized the interrelatedness of stewardship to the environment, stakeholder values, and economic development. We are all related – and indebted – to our environment, to nature that has given us our daily needs. Whatever we do to it will indeed affect our lives and the way we live. If we are sustainable in our actions and programs, the future will certainly be good to us – the environment will be pleasing and can give us the life that we longed for.
Works Cited
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